D&D 5E goes for a pint with Local Legends in next Epic Encounters miniatures set
You begin in a tavern full of raging owlbear minis.
All tabletop players know taverns for their capacity as meeting places, often beginning inauspicious journeys somewhere near the vicinity of a bar, its unassuming patrons and a probable basement full of rats. Fantasy miniatures line Epic Encounters wants to shake things up by bringing the excitement indoors with a new line of releases called Local Legends.
Published by UK-based outfit Steamforged Games, Epic Encounter: Local Legends follows the same basic formula as past releases, packaging a massive dragon or warband of dangerous orcs, goblins or angry crab people alongside an adventure book that contains prompts on introducing them to your ongoing Dungeons & Dragons 5E campaign (or other 5E-compatible high fantasy system, I guess).
Where Local Legends differs is the emphasis on taverns as the initial setting for adventures - cosy roadside inns, raucous taverns in the middle of an urban sprawl and even stranger locations will be explored in the spin-off miniature line. Every adventuring group needs a place to rest, quaff refreshments, share bawdy tales and (hopefully) catch a rare bath, so enterprising or even beginner DMs will have ample opportunity to slot these encounters-in-a-box into their campaigns.
Each Local Legends release will contain illustrations of the inns’ interior and exterior - like the one seen at the top of this article - full of details and sensory information that both DMs and players can use as roleplay fodder. Fully fleshed out encounters unique to these watering holes will reward adventurers who plumb mysteries and sniff out secrets hiding in the walls. It always pays to ask the barkeep about weird rumours.
Also included are NPC cards that have their own artwork, hooks and personal particulars that will bring the denizens to life during sessions, and battle maps to best make use of the real stars of the show - the miniatures. A press release from Steamforged Games only showed off a towering owlbear and a hedge wizard brandishing a wicked sickle. The company is likely saving the rest for a Kickstarter campaign planned to launch on June 28th.
Epic Encounters: Local Legends is the first expansion to the popular line of miniatures from Steamforged Games. The company most recently handled the Dark Souls RPG but have also developed a legacy of adapting video game properties to the tabletop, as seen in the Resident Evil, Horizon Zero Dawn and Monster Hunter World board game series. Across all of these properties is a penchant for producing highly detailed miniatures, which has become a strong selling point of the Epic Encounters brand. Keep checking Dicebreaker for more information about Local Legends in the future.